[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 27 (Thursday, February 13, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E259]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING RICHARD COWAN FOR HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOR 
                                SENIORS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 13, 2003

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the accomplishments of 
Richard Cowan, Executive Director of Legal Assistance for Seniors (LAS) 
and its well-known Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program 
(HICAP). HICAP's health insurance counseling program provides the local 
assistance seniors need to make sure Medicare works for them.
  With a leadership style of humor and compassion, Richard Cowan has 
steered LAS and HICAP through a major growth in services, outreach, and 
budget during his nine-year tenure as Executive Director. The agency's 
size has quadrupled under Cowan's leadership, and the legal staff has 
increased from six attorneys to thirteen.
  Richard Cowan worked to develop Healthy Seniors, a program that 
unites the work of LAS and HICAP, and he led the Senior Immigrant Legal 
Services Project. He advocated for the Elder Abuse Prevention and 
Grandparent/Kin Caregiver programs and strengthened the agency's ties 
throughout Alameda County's senior, social services, health, and legal 
networks.
  He spearheaded development of several LAS newsletters, and expanded 
LAS's funding resources to include over 30 major individual donors and 
firm contributors. Also, Cowan oversaw the hiring of a diverse LAS 
staff, which has the capability to assist clients in eight languages. 
He was a founding member of Alameda County Senior Services Coalition 
and Save Oakland Seniors, two groups dedicated to advocating for 
increased senior services.
  Prior to joining LAS, Richard Cowan was Executive Director of the 
Conciliation Forums of Oakland, a citywide dispute resolution center, 
for six years, and interim Executive Director of the Volunteer Centers 
of Alameda County for one year. He earned his Bachelor of Arts, Master 
of Arts, and Masters of Public Health degrees from the University of 
California, Berkeley.
  I am honored to join the colleagues of Richard Cowan in commending 
him for his years of exemplary leadership at Legal Assistance for 
Seniors. I have great respect for the work of Mr. Cowan and this 
organization. Under his direction, Legal Assistance for Seniors has 
become a program that should be modeled nationwide.

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